“Wow. Hope your bride doesn’t kick your butt out when she learns about your plan.”
“Min can’t live without me.”
“Why don’t you have one of your regular photographers do it?”
“Because I never see you any more, little sister, and because you have a better eye than most of the people I work with.” He chuckled. “Did I mention how lucrative it will be?”
Even though she’d caught that part, she was still hesitant. “I don’t know, bro.”
“Hey, you need the break. It’s been a year. You need to get back on the horse again.”
“I have a lot of work I’d need to finish first. Maybe I could do it.”
“Remember that camera you were telling me about?”
“The Hasselblad?” The camera she lusted after, except it cost forty-five-thousand bucks, fifty with the perfect lens.
“Dial it back. The other one. Your second choice.”
“The Olympus lens.” She had the fourteen-hundred dollar Olympus camera, but was still saving up for the over six-thousand dollar Olympus 300mm f/2.8 ED lens.
“Yeah. That one. You might be able to buy one after this job.”
“Seriously?”
“Lucrative, little sis.”
“Can I bring Xena?”
She could hear her brother’s sigh over the line. “If you ride in the corporate jet, she’ll be fine. If you have to fly commercial, you’ll have to pay extra for her, but once you get on the small hopper plane from Fiji to Mango Island you can hold her on your lap.”
“Great. I’ll see if I can make the time.”
“Invite your friend along to be your assistant. She’s helped you before, right?”
“Yes.” Emma glanced across the table at Ashley. “I’ll ask her.”
“Okay. Talk to you later.” And he was gone.
“Who was that?”
“Preston. He wants us to fly to a tropical island mid-May and says the pay will be lucrative. Some kind of movie-making workshop thing.”
“I’d love to but I’ll be eight months along.”
“Check with your doctor. And talk with Gary. He may want to go along, too.”
“He probably would.” Ashley said. “Maybe my mama will watch the littles and we can have a second honeymoon trip.”
Emma motioned toward Ashley’s waist. “You’ll be big as an elephant by then.”
“I know.” Ashley sighed. “But even elephants need a getaway.”
“Just don’t give birth on a remote island.” Emma narrowed her eyes. “I’m serious.”
“I went over my due date with the other two. I’ll be fine.” Ashley smiled. “Are you taking Xena?”
Emma nodded. “Preston said I could.”
“Well, don’t expect me to bring my babies just because you’re bringing yours.”
“You’ll be eight months along. You’ll be bringing your youngest baby along.”
“Hold on.” Ashley left and returned with four desserts, handing plastic containers to her children and a fancier ramekin to Emma.
“What is this?”
“Lemon meringue pie with only three carbs.”
Emma eyed it distrustfully.
“Try it. It’s great.”
Emma did, and it was. After she’d polished it off — in far less time than she’d have imagined — she sighed. “Thanks, Ashley. Both dinner and dessert were great.”
“Hey, if Preston is doing movie related workshops, Noah will probably be there, too.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re right.” Emma frowned. “He probably will be there. Will that make the island boys only?”
“Noah’s cute. And now that he’s a famous action movie star, every woman in the world is after him. And he thinks you’re cute.”
“No, he doesn’t. He never did. He thought I was the pesky younger sister of his buddy.”
Ashley laughed. “I’ll bet you ten bucks that he likes you.”
“And how on earth would you ever prove that?”
“I don’t know. Somehow. Now I for sure need to go.”
Emma’s phone rang again. This time it played “Your Cheating Heart” and she groaned. “Trevor.”
“My condolences,” Ashley said. “Better grab it. Otherwise, he’ll text you nonstop while we’re trying to watch the movie.”
“He just wants to have me sign something so our house can be sold.”
“Why not just sign it and be done with it?”
“Because it bothers him so much.” And because he’d hurt her so deeply, left her feeling like damaged goods when he’d left her for another woman. Several other women, she’d discovered. She pushed DECLINE and silenced her phone. “There. Problem solved.”
And, yeah, maybe she was being a little petty in not signing the papers on their house, which could then be sold and the profits split, but the jerk deserved a little trouble for all the hurt he’d caused her.
“I never trusted him.” Ashley frowned.
Emma shrugged. “He’s found a real woman now.”
“Oh, honey. Don’t say that.”
“It’s what Trevor said.”
“And Trevor’s a jerk so we can ignore every stupid thing he told you.” Ashley sighed.
“I can’t get pregnant. It’s the truth.”
“Other than for you, and you know I love you and would never say anything to hurt you, but getting pregnant usually doesn’t take much. I’m proof of that. Gary looks at me and boom! I’m pregnant again. So why hasn’t this real woman,” she said, putting air quotes around the word real, “gotten pregnant in a year? If Trevor was telling the truth and actually wanted children. He’s just a jerk who gets off on hurting you.”
“It’s only been a year. They might be waiting.”
“A year is plenty long enough if he really wanted children as much as he claimed he did.” Ashley turned her attention to her daughter and shook her head. “You’re going to need a bath just so I can unstick you from the high chair. Emma, please excuse me and Princess Disgusting. And you” — she pointed to Charlie — “better come upstairs, too. You can play one game while I’m bathing Chloe, and then it’s your turn.”
Alone, Emma cleared the table and put food away. From the kitchen window, she could see over the back fence to her childhood home a couple of houses down. Ashley had married young and stayed in the same neighborhood.
Emma caught sight of the tree that held the old clubhouse. She smiled as she pondered the minor changes she’d made to it. After Preston had left for college, she’d immediately claimed it as her own. Girls were definitely now allowed.
Thinking about the old clubhouse rules made her think of Noah. She could still remember staring up at him, hands on hips, wanting to smack him upside the head for not letting her and Ashley up there. She’d had such a crush on him when she was seven. And eight. And nine. And, if she was honest, all the way until his mother had taken him to Hawaii after his father died, not that he’d ever shown any sort of interest in her.
Which had left her wide open to meeting Trevor in college. She’d never experienced a sociopath before, someone who wore a facade in all his dealings with people. A compulsive liar she still wasn’t totally free of.
She’d grown up knowing people who were what they presented themselves to be to the world. Even Noah Sullivan, who’d shown he was a chauvinistic Neanderthal at the age of ten, along with her own brother and Knox Reid.
She’d have to go get her hair done before May. Maybe add a few highlights. Exercise a little more. If she was going to be stuck on an island for a week with Noah Sullivan, she was going to make him take a really good look at her.
And, right after that, the ten million women chasing him would likely trample her.
3
Half Mouse and Half Tasmanian Devil
A Beautiful Summer Day, May 9
Noah watched the ocean below through the window of the private jet. He could stretch and be comfortable on the Gulfstream GV, with seating for at least
fourteen people, and sleeping for several, in the recliners and couches spread along its length. He and Preston had purchased the jet for their business, Midas Movies Inc., a year ago.
He held his phone to his ear while Gramps told him about the latest goings-on at the ranch. A smile lit his face. He really loved the old man, who’d basically raised him after his father died when he was nine and his mother moved him from Hawaii to Waco. “Take care of yourself, Gramps.”
“Will do, son. Have a good trip. Maybe meet a nice girl. You’re over thirty now. It’s time to settle down.”
“Don’t I wish, Gramps.” He didn’t mention that he had just barely turned thirty. If Gramps thought he was older, then he was older.
“How many people are on your plane this time?”
“Preston and his bride, two security guys, the pilot, and a small film crew of four people. Plus me makes ten.”
After chatting a few more minutes, Noah said goodbye and slipped the phone into his pocket.
It immediately rang again. This time it was his cousin, Knox. “Hey. What are you up to?”
Knox said, “Are you on the island yet?”
“Still in the air, but getting close.”
“Wish I could be there with you.”
Noah shrugged. “No problem. You had that presentation you had to make. I understand.”
“Yeah. And so I’m going to miss out on all the island beauties while you’re there fighting off women.”
“None of them would have gone for you, anyway,” Noah said with a grin. “And besides, you’re got Amy. How is she?”
“Still feisty.” Knox laughed. “I’ve got to go. I just wanted to touch bases with you.”
Noah hung up.
The sun glinted off the brilliant, jewel-like blue of the ocean while occasional light, fluffy clouds playing past the aircraft.
Light laughter made him shake his head. “Get a room,” he said, under his breath.
Preston and Min, who’d gotten married just eight days before, were driving him crazy with their public displays of affection.
He glanced over at the pair, who were kissing, whispering, and giggling in the lounge section of the jet, half-reclining on the couch.
It irritated him, and he raised his voice a little and repeated, “Get a room.”
The two pulled apart, still staring into each other’s eyes. “Pet your stupid dog, Noah,” Preston said, never taking his gaze off his bride. “We’re just kissing.”
Noah did. Chief settled his head on Noah’s leg and leaned in while Noah scratched behind the dog’s ears. Chief, a two-year-old, seventy-pound boxer, gazed up at him with soulful brown eyes, begging for more scratching before it had even stopped.
He stood and walked up the aisle to the next seating arrangement, where Quinton Braxton and Troy Lewis, their two bodyguards, were relaxing and playing a game of cards. He didn’t really like needing them, but the studio — their own studio — required them as part of the insurance package.
He sat across from them, and Chief sat at his side.
“Can’t take the lovebirds any more, huh?” Braxton asked.
Troy snickered. “You’re just jealous.”
Yeah. Noah was.
The plane tipped its wings and they straightened out to line up with the runway. Apparently, the island’s airport was back in business, at least.
“We’re coming in for a landing,” he told the pair, then glanced back at the newlyweds, who had switched seats to look out the window. Min had a flattering blush on her cheeks and Preston looked happy.
Noah was glad for his buddy, he really was, but knowing Preston was getting married while Noah was now thirty and wasn’t even dating anyone seriously was part of why he’d accepted Jerry Thompson’s insane challenge four months before.
As the plane coasted toward the runway, Chief came to attention.
“It’s okay, boy,” Noah told him and ruffled his fur to relax him.
The plane landed smoothly, with just minor bounces, and taxied toward the small airport.
Noah clipped the leash onto Chief’s collar. The boxer pup was easy going, but too much activity and change could upset any dog.
Preston stood and took his bride’s hand. Min was a beautiful dark-haired woman from South Korea. Not only was she an accomplished actress at the young age of twenty-three, she was smart. And nice. And she overlooked Preston’s slightly pudgy physique and saw the great guy beneath.
Noah was not jealous of his friend’s good fortune.
Preston seemed to have the magic touch where movie making was concerned, and he attracted top people, from producers to actors to deal-makers. That’s why they’d called his company — their company — Midas Movies.
The timing couldn’t have been better for either of them. A month after Noah’s shoulder injury knocked him out of pro football, Preston had called with a business proposition. Noah had invested a large sum of his football money to launch Preston’s dream business and received half of the company’s ownership in return. Together, they’d hit it huge. Normally, most movie stars didn’t hit billionaire status, but their shares in Midas Movies had put them both over that line.
Preston always said Noah made movie magic and lots of moolah, the perfect combination, and the action franchise seemed to be growing bigger with each release. But money didn’t bring happiness, as Noah well knew. And, since his divorce, he’d been more relationship-phobic than normal.
Preston, though, had stayed open to romance. He’d met Min on the set of last year’s movie, where she’d starred as the female lead, and they’d fallen for each other immediately.
Noah hoped — prayed! — that Min was really the sweet woman she appeared to be. After all, Deena had appeared sweet, too. At first.
Preston smiled at Min. “My sister’s plane will be here in about twenty minutes. She had a destination wedding she was filming so she couldn’t fly with us. We can wait for her here.”
He pointed to a grouping of chairs under a canopy outside the small airport building.
“Emma’s coming?” Noah groaned. “Great. Do they have fire ants on Mango Island?”
Preston snorted a laugh. “She’s not quite so bloodthirsty now.”
“Whatever, man. Those ants hurt.”
“I remember, dude. She shared them with me, too.”
Preston looked around at the palm trees and greenery. An actual parrot flew overhead. “This is going to be the most expensive beach vacation I’ve ever taken.”
“Just remember that we are now one-tenth owners of the resort.”
“Oh, look,” Min said, shading her eyes against the sun as she looked up. “Another plane is coming in.”
Noah looked up to see a small hopper that must have come over from Fiji. Was that Emma’s plane, early? Why did his heart speed up at that thought? She was just Preston’s kid sister, after all, no matter how cute she’d looked with her hands on her hips glaring up at him in the tree house. And it was in the bro code that you didn’t mess with a friend’s sister.
“So do you think Noah will recognize you?” Ashley asked, her fingers interlaced and her hands resting on her blimp of a baby bump.
“Why wouldn’t he?” Across the aisle, Emma shifted in the seat of the small hopper plane they’d taken from Fiji. It was only a half-hour flight.
Xena slept in a bag on Emma’s lap, and her friend reached in and stroked the little dog’s soft fur. Waking, Xena turned her head and licked Ashley’s fingers, and closed her eyes again. There was a short leash hooking her harness to the bag, itself. Genius design.
Ashley sat across the aisle, her husband Gary next to the window. “Because we’ve changed a lot since junior high. I haven’t even seen him for three years and I’ve changed.”
“There’s the understatement of the year. You look like a freaking fertility goddess.”
“Yeah. Or a beached whale.” Ashley sighed. “Neither of which is good.”
Her husband leaned over and kissed her
cheek. “You’re beautiful to me, baby.”
“Now, see, right there,” Emma said, teasing, “is why I can’t hang out with you guys. You’re disgustingly happy together.”
“You love seeing us,” Ashley said. “It shows you the possibilities.”
Emma’s phone buzzed and she checked it. Her ex. Again. She was not going to talk with him. That’s why they had attorneys.
Living with Trevor had wounded her in ways she couldn’t really explain. He had let her know she was damaged goods, and she hadn’t been able to shake his assessment, though she was working on it.
Emma turned to look out the window, to breathe out thoughts of Trevor and breathe in the view, which was amazing — fluffy clouds over blue water and land coming into view ahead.
Moments later, the plane came to a stop on a small runway surrounded by tropical beauty. This was going to be great.
They waited while the passengers in the seats in front of them stood and began walking, then Emma stood and slipped the strap of Xena’s bag over her shoulder.
She followed the other two in her group — her hugely expectant friend with her protective, hovering husband up the aisle. Outside, the sun felt gloriously warm. She slipped her sunglasses on and smiled as she carefully made her way down the somewhat wobbly steps to the ground.
They were told that their luggage would be brought to the small building ahead of them.
Ahead of them stood a knot of people, in deep conversation.
“It’s Preston,” Ashley said, and then lowered her voice. “And Noah.”
Emma turned to look.
Dressed in worn jeans, cowboy boots, and a button-down shirt, loose at the collar, Noah looked fantastic. She’d seen his movies, just like nearly every other person in America, maybe even in the world, but up close and personal he truly was something. Not that she cared at all, of course, but she couldn’t help the breath that escaped that sounded a lot like, “Wow.”
“Oh, my gosh,” Ashley whispered back. “I’m eight months pregnant and I want to leave my husband just for a hug from that man.”
NOAH: A Childhood Nemesis Sweet Romantic Comedy (Waco Wranglers Reid Brothers Book 2) Page 2